Commentary: Make an informed vote about Measure CC

October 18, 2012|By Paul Freeman

Reasonable people can debate the merits of Measure CC, the Open Space Initiative. But the Laguna Beach Taxpayers Assn. has resorted to purposefully distorting what this initiative is, and what it would mean.

There is no new committee that would decide what parcels to buy, as they well know. The text of the initiative plainly states there is to be a new watchdog committee, just like there was to oversee school-bond expenditures, and that only the City Council decides what parcels to purchase and for how much. The taxpayers association knows this; they just want to fool people.

I guess it's inevitable that we get to see in Laguna Beach the kind of nonsense we see now at every level in politics: People willing to say and do anything for political ends, as opposed to sticking to the facts. Another distortion: The association claims that it supported the 1990 canyon bond measure when it actively opposed it. I have newspaper articles to prove it. And I was one of those in 1990 debating this group in forum after forum. Except that back then, the leaders of this group had integrity — they argued based on the facts. Not this current crop. Shame on them.

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I have confidence that voters will ignore those who want to shed more heat than light on the issues, and that they'll decide for themselves based on what they see as the merits or demerits of what's being proposed. Go to lagunaopenspace.com. Read the initiative and ballot arguments for yourself.

Paul Freeman is the campaign coordinator for Measure CC and a former Laguna Beach mayor.